The output chosen for definitions in W3C specs is easily the worst
example
of spec language abuse that I have ever seen. Definitions are supposed
to
highlighted to the reader, not placed in obscurity through the addition
of
[Definition: ...]. Mark-up should never obscure CONTENT.
Under normal English, anything inside square brackets can be removed.
In technical specifications, anything inside parentheses or square
brackets
is non-normative or indicative of an editorial addition in order to
clarify a quote taken from some other source. Obviously, neither is
the case for definitions.
I suggest that the W3C ask a literature department (like Harvard or
Chicago)
what they think such a style document says to a typical reader, and
perhaps
suggest a more useful signage for definitions that actually calls them
out
in a normative way that doesn't cause experienced technical writers to
go
into fits of perplexity. For example, here is the style for IEEE specs:
http://standards.ieee.org/guides/style/section4.html#527
Cheers,
Roy T. Fielding <http://roy.gbiv.com/>
Chief Scientist, Day Software <http://www.day.com/>